Googling about symptoms can predict disease outbreak

Irritated at recurring symptoms? Searching for an online diagnosis on google is not a bad idea before visiting the doctor.

The habit of searching on internet for an online diagnosis before visiting a doctor can provide early warning of an infectious disease epidemic, says a study.

In the study published in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases, internet-based surveillance has been found to detect infectious diseases such dengue fever and influenza up to two weeks earlier than traditional surveillance methods.

"This is because traditional surveillance relies on the patient recognising the symptoms and seeking treatment before diagnosis, along with the time taken for health professionals to alert authorities," said Wenbiao Hu, senior research fellow at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia.

There was often a lag time of two weeks before traditional surveillance methods could detect an emerging infectious disease. "In contrast, digital surveillance can provide real-time detection of epidemics," Hu added.

The study found by using digital surveillance through search engine algorithms such as Google Trends and Google Insights, detecting the 2005-06 avian influenza outbreak 'Bird Flu' would have been possible between one and two weeks earlier than official surveillance reports.

"In another example, a digital data collection network was found to be able to detect the SARS outbreak more than two months before the first publications by the World Health Organisation (WHO)," he said.

Early detection means early warning and that can help reduce or contain an epidemic, as well alert public health authorities to ensure risk management strategies such as the provision of adequate medication are implemented, the study noted.

Hu said social media tools including twitter and facebook could also be effective in detecting disease outbreaks.

"There is the potential for digital technology to revolutionise emerging infectious disease surveillance," he added.